50 THE RADIUM WOMAN
hitherto met, none had the talk and mystery of
this strange girl. When he returned to Warsaw
for the autumn, he longed for Christmas.
"It ought always to be winter. Mademoiselle,"
he said. And to Manya's unsuspecting "No!
Why?" he laughed. "Aren't we told to worship
beauty and is there anything lovelier than a girl
with perfect ankles skating gracefully? And then
there are the dances! You who dance so well,
don't you love them and the long sledge drives
under winter stars?"
Yes, Manya had returned to loving dancing,
but still she preferred the summer—the summer
holidays.
"The holidays? When I am here?"
Casimir had long guessed her answer. He said
that he would go to his father at once. People did
not generally marry governesses, but Manya was
different, so entirely different. Everyone in his
home loved her; his father chose her for his walk-
ing companion; his mother introduced her to all
her friends; his sister adored her. They had often
invited her father, her brother and her sister to
stay in the home; they showered presents and
flowers on her on her birthday; they were surely
just waiting to welcome her with delight as a new
daughter.
But about that, Casimir was mistaken. When
he told his parents that he wanted to marry
Manya, his father was furious and his mother
nearly fainted- Should their eldest son, he on
whom all their hopes were fixed, who could bring